Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Adam Dance and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, because restoring Belper mills is not just about delivering the housing that his constituents want, but about restoring an iconic world heritage site in the east midlands. We are investing over £1.2 billion in skills, supporting apprenticeships—including courses focused on heritage construction—recruiting 60,000 more construction workers, and backing new technical excellence colleges, so that we have the workforce to build the homes the country needs.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

Q8. In January last year, Somerset received around 2,000 pothole reports. This January, there were nearly 7,000—a 250% increase. I recently stood on the Fosse Way in my constituency, where one resident had blown a tyre and another was checking the damage under his car. Families and small businesses are paying the price. Rural counties like Somerset have some of the largest rural networks in the country, yet the funding does not reflect that reality. Will the Prime Minister commit to fairer funding for rural areas so that we can properly maintain and resurface our roads, rather than constantly patching them up?

[The Prime Minister]

I know how important it is that we fix the crumbling roads that we inherited from the Conservative party. The hon. Gentleman’s county council will receive over £225 million as part of our £7.3 billion investment to tackle potholes. We are also implementing tough new standards so that councils have to prove that they are fixing the roads properly, and delivering £78 billion for councils to ensure that they can deliver excellent local services.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Adam Dance and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 26th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right; the report is a sombre moment. It is important to remember the scale of suffering and the scale of the loss of life, which is made clear in the testimonies of the families in the report, and to remember the incredible contribution of frontline workers and everyone who focused on protecting others. We are committed to learning the lessons we need to learn from the covid inquiry to protect and prepare us for the future. The pandemic still weighs heavily on our public finances and our NHS. That is why we have already conducted a pandemic exercise to test preparedness, and agreed a historic global pandemic agreement to improve our ability to prevent global disease threats, alongside our partners.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

Q6. I hope the Prime Minister will agree with me that the defence industry in Somerset is a key engine for growth, jobs and innovation. Leonardo in Yeovil is making fantastic progress with the Proteus uncrewed helicopter, but the future of that project, thousands of jobs at the site in Yeovil and the £320 million that Leonardo contributes to local GDP are dependent on the new medium helicopter contract. Will the Prime Minister reassure my constituents that he supports the industry in Yeovil, and will his Government finally get around to awarding this long overdue contract?

[The Prime Minister]

I pay tribute to those in Somerset and the hon. Gentleman’s constituency in the defence sector, which is hugely important to our country and our security. I can confirm that we are continuing with the established procurement process for the new medium helicopter programme to deliver modern equipment for our armed forces. That is part of the biggest sustained boost to our defence since the cold war. I am determined to see a defence dividend of investment in British jobs and apprentices, including in his constituency. That builds on the £8 billion Typhoon deal that we have secured, the £4 billion maritime deal with Indonesia, and the £10 billion frigate deal with Norway.

G20 and Ukraine

Debate between Adam Dance and Keir Starmer

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The way I would put it is this: if the leadership of Reform were confident that there are no other pro-Russia activities and links in their party, they would surely want to have the investigation. The very fact that they will not look at this tells me that they are not confident of that, and they do not want any of us to know about it.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

Will the Prime Minister reassure my constituents that he will oppose any peace deal that rewards Russia for its aggression, whether that means carving up Ukraine’s territory or allowing Russia to join the G7? If Putin gets what he wants, this will never end.

[The Prime Minister]

I can reassure the hon. Gentleman’s constituents that we will absolutely fight for a just outcome and a lasting outcome. He can tell his constituents that we are working very, very closely with the Ukrainians on this, as we always have, and supporting them for as long as they may need that support.

Other Correction

Debate between Adam Dance and Keir Starmer

Monday 19th May 2025 Written Corrections

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

Maternity services in Yeovil are due to shut on Monday, after a deeply flawed Care Quality Commission inspection in January, and are to be moved to Musgrove Park hospital in Taunton, which does not have capacity for an extra 1,300 births a year. Although the closure is initially for six months, I have received no guarantee that the services will open again, which is creating huge fear. Will the Prime Minister or the relevant Minister agree to meet me and colleagues from the south-west to stop this decision?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising this issue, which must be of concern. I am not across the details at this stage, but I will make sure that he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to get to the bottom of the issue.

[Official Report, 14 May 2025; Vol. 767, c. 342.]

Written correction submitted by the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance):

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

Maternity services in Yeovil are due to shut on Monday, after deep flaws were found by a Care Quality Commission inspection in January, and are to be moved to Musgrove Park hospital in Taunton, which does not have capacity for an extra 1,300 births a year. Although the closure is initially for six months, I have received no guarantee that the services will open again, which is creating huge fear. Will the Prime Minister or the relevant Minister agree to meet me and colleagues from the south-west to stop this decision?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Adam Dance and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 14th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Let us be clear what the parties opposite voted against. Stronger statutory sick pay—they voted against. The right to guaranteed hours—they voted against. Protection from unfair dismissal—they voted against. Stronger protection for pregnant mothers—they voted against. A package worth £600 to the poorest workers in insecure work—they voted against. We are backing British workers; they vote against them at every turn.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

Maternity services in Yeovil are due to shut on Monday, after a deeply flawed Care Quality Commission inspection in January, and are to be moved to Musgrove Park hospital in Taunton, which does not have capacity for an extra 1,300 births a year. Although the closure is initially for six months, I have received no guarantee that the services will open again, which is creating huge fear. Will the Prime Minister or the relevant Minister agree to meet me and colleagues from the south-west to stop this decision?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising this issue, which must be of concern. I am not across the details at this stage, but I will make sure that he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to get to the bottom of the issue.